Nevada brewpub shames patron online for unpaid tab

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RENO, Nev. (AP) - A Nevada brewpub irked that a patron left without paying his $100 tab turned to Facebook earlier this week to publicly shame him.

The Brewer's Cabinet in Reno posted a picture of smiling patron Saul Zelaznog on Tuesday, urging users to remind him to pay up and warning other businesses to watch out for future freeloading.

"And, while you're at it, you could tell him that visiting restaurants with your friends, running up a huge bill, roughing up servers and then bailing is pretty uncool ... pathetic, really," the post reads. "Get a life, man."

The post had more than 600 shares on Facebook by Thursday.

Chris Kahl, a co-owner of the Brewer's Cabinet, told the Reno Gazette-Journal he contacted police after the dine-and-dash.

"All his friends paid and left, and he was the last one," Kahl said. "The server needed to collect his money. He said he forgot his wallet."

Other restaurants and bars in the area - including Imperial, Campo and Chapel Tavern - told KRNV-TV they believe they've also been his victims.

When contacted by the newspaper, Zelaznog - who also goes by the name Saul Gonzalez, according to public records - said he had forgotten a method of payment when he visited Tuesday, but planned to return to pay the tab.

He said he was involved in a similar situation at another Reno-area restaurant, where he said he left a "nice watch" as collateral.

"I'm not trying to burn bridges around town," he told the paper. "This is a small little town."

Zelaznog said he was asking relatives to wire him money in hopes of paying the bill by Thursday, although restaurant manager Ed Griggs said the money hadn't showed up by midday.